Opinion | Record low public confidence in 'one country, two systems' is a wake-up call
Alice Wu says dipping public confidence in 'one country, two systems' should inspire more political will to find common ground
"One country, two systems", the constitutional principle formulated by Deng Xiaoping, has taken quite a battering in the court of public opinion in recent months. Seventeen years since it became Hong Kong's "reality", we're still grappling with what it means.
Once, these four words were enough to placate some of our anxieties. And for years after July 1, 1997, there seemed to be an obsession with ensuring its successful implementation.
After all, there was a lot riding on its success. The prosperity of Hong Kong, and its people's very livelihoods, were at stake, along with China's reputation and the international community's confidence in it. Making "one country, two systems" work was a shared interest - a necessity, albeit for separate reasons, for both systems of the one country.
It has been a bumpy ride, to be sure. Along the way, a wedge was driven into it, splitting "one country" from "two systems" and creating a contest between them. One had to choose which took precedence. That division has been amplified in the past few months amid debate on Hong Kong's electoral reform.
It is to be expected that the latest survey by the University of Hong Kong's public opinion programme found the proportion of respondents lacking confidence in the formula (56 per cent, compared to the "confident" 38 per cent) at its highest since polling began in 1993. And perhaps equally expected is the speculation that Hong Kong may see a fresh wave of emigration, reminiscent of the one before 1997.
It's tempting, of course, to see public sentiment as a sign of doom for "one country, two systems". The schism in the formula may not have been avoidable; Hong Kong, the mainland, and the rest of the world have changed drastically.